As the conclave was set by the College of Cardinals for May 7, Catholics and believers of Pope Francis are posting their desire that the next pope would carry on his legacy. They invoke Divine intervention, particularly of the Holy Spirit to electors courage, wisdom and a heart dedicated to service and truth.
Francis, who ruled for 12 years the Church of 1.4 billion, is highly praised for his simplicity, humility and his mission of reaching out to the marginalized, those isolated and abandoned by society and pushed for immigration (for people in troubled nations), the poor as he prayed for the very sick (physically and morally) as he also showered understanding to same sex unions (not marriage), which most people from rich and poor nations shunned upon. Francis was the 266th pope elected by the College of Cardinals in the conclave, the first being St. Peter, the apostle of Jesus.
Customarily, the conclave is held 15 to 20 days after the pope’s death. There is no time limit for the conclave, with the longest in modern times in 1903, when Pope Pius X was chosen after five days.
LONGEST, SHORTEST VOTING
In the 13th century, the papacy was vacant for three years before Gregory X was elected, said USA Today.
The shortest conclave was in 2013, when it only the College of Cardinals 115 electors a little more than 28 hours to choose Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina (who chose the name Francis I– the patron saint of the poor and him being the first Jesuit priest to be elected from South America).
Francis was backed by cardinals seeking reform and he emerged as unexpected candidate early on. In his election speech, Francis said “I come from the end of the world.”
Already, a dozen papabile names have been tossed around but like the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines warned, the conclave is not like a typical political exercise.
‘Outside the chapel, thousands of faithful gather in prayer and anticipation for the cardinals’ verdict, all eyes glued to the chimney, which if it spews white smoke means a pope has been chosen and black smoke means none yet.’
CHOSEN BY LOTTERY
Cardinals Luis Antonio Tagle, Dominique Mamberti and Reinhard Marx will assist the camerlengo (the caretaker of papal household), Cardinal Kevin Farrel, in preparing for the conclave for at least the next three days.
Tagle was chosen by lottery to be among the three assistants of the camerlengo, or caretaker of the papal household, in preparing for the conclave at least for the next three days.
The conclave, a time-honored process conducted in secrecy behind locked doors of the Sistine Chapel, is held when the papacy is usually vacated upon a pope’s death or retirement (except in the case of Pope Benedict XVI who resigned in 2013, the first in six centuries).
Benedict was succeeded by Francis. Only those below 80 years old can secretly vote in the conclave. Of the 252 cardinals, 135 will serve as electors.
VOW OF SECRECY
Before the conclave begins, the College of Cardinals will celebrate Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica before moving on to the Sistine Chapel. Until a successor is chosen, they were sequested behind locked doors– hence the term conclave, from the Latin “with key.”
The principle behind locking them at first was to prevent them from being influenced by Roman leaders and powerful families, but now it is to shield them from media.
They surrender their cellphones, have no access to TV, email or other public contact. They take a vow of secrecy though leaks have been reported over the years.
Up to four secret ballots are conducted daily in slips of paper. A pope is chosen if he gets ⅔ vote. When no candidate earns a sufficient portion of votes, the cardinals break for closed-door discussion and reconvene for another vote, with the process repeating until a decision has been reached.
HABEMUS PAPAM
Outside the chapel, thousands of faithful gather in prayer and anticipation for the cardinals’ verdict, all eyes glued to the chimney, which if it spews white smoke means a pope has been chosen and black smoke means none yet. The tallies are burned using chemicals.
If after 32 rounds of voting no clear winner emerges, the top two candidates advance to a run-off but the winner must still have ⅔ majority.
Ultimately, the words “Habemus papam” (We have a pope) will sound from the balcony and the newly-named pope will make his debut.